WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 16 JULY 20, 2012

MONDAY JULY 16, 2012

ACADEMIA ADVERSARIES ADVOCATES BLOGOSPHERE LEGAL LEGISLATE OP-ED HOMEOWNERS NEWS ForeclosureGate.org Is A Public Service Homeowner Coalition and Cooperative, Created To Exchange News And Information And To Advance Justice For American Homeowners

'Eminent Domain/Community Stabilization Debate' Newspaper Published Every Friday http://paper.li/EmDomainDebate/1342319964 QUESTION: What prevents local community authorities from approving a Neighborhood Preservation and Foreclosure Prevention Program, to be made available to all underwater borrowers in foreclosure or in danger of foreclosure, whereby seizure using Eminent Domain occurs only if those claiming to be the mortgage/note-holders, first refuse to modify a loan principal balance down to the current, appropriate fair market value? ForeclosurePets.org Currently there are over 1.6 million foreclosures and with the current economy, including credit crunch and job market, unfortunately there will be more in the near future. Sadly, pets are being left behind to fend for themselves and in many cases this results in starvation and death. These animals cannot survive on their own and simply do not deserve this treatment. New foreclosure law in effect The Foreclosure Rescue Fraud Prevention Act, ensures that New Jersey residents facing foreclosure are not scammed during their most vulnerable time. The law comes as a response to the significant increase in residential foreclosures within the 36th district. In the first six months of 2012, 129 homes were foreclosed in the 15 towns that comprise the district.

New Program for Under-Employed Homeowners Struggling to Prevent Foreclosure Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Executive Director Gary Heidel today announced that the U.S. Department of Treasury approved revisions to Michigan's Hardest Hit Funds programs allowing MSHDA to enhance their existing programs and introduce a new.

Know Before You Owe For most Americans, buying a home means taking out a mortgage loan. The Dodd-Frank Act requires us to combine the Truth in Lending and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act disclosures. You receive these disclosures after you apply for a mortgage and shortly before you close on the mortgage.

Were Being Fed a Steady Diet of Econocrap This past week started off with a thud when the Federal Reserves report on U.S. Family Finances showed that the median familys net worth fell by almost 40 percent between 2007 2010. Economists at the Fed reported that the drop was the largest since the survey began in 1989. Reuters had the story that I read in HuffPo. Check out this fabulous Fed quote

Georgia To Spend $100 Million Meant For Helping Homeowners On Corporate Giveaways Georgia lawmakers, for instance, have been planning to stash nearly $100 million from the settlement into their states general fund. As Kate Little, president of the Georgia State Trade Association of Nonprofit Developers wrote today, that money did indeed wind up in the states general budget, where it will be spent on corporate giveaways.

Big Banks Could Rake In Up To $12 Billion Because Of HARP 2.0 A government program meant to help struggling homeowners will at minimum help some struggling banks. Big banks could rake in as much as $12 billion in revenue by refinancing the mortgages of homeowners that owe more on their homes than they are worth, according to an analysis by Nomura, a Japanese bank, cited by the Wall Street Journal.

Colorado Supreme Court lets foreclosure initiative advance The Colorado Supreme Court has ruled that the proponents of Initiative 84, a proposed state constitutional amendment regarding foreclosure documentation, can move ahead with the amendment. In a June 14 ruling, the Supreme Court affirmed the state title boards decision that the initiative could move forward, despite challenges from two of the states largest banking groups.

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WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 16 JULY 20, 2012

TUESDAY, JULY 17, 2012

ACADEMIA ADVERSARIES ADVOCATES BLOGOSPHERE LEGAL LEGISLATE OP-ED HOMEOWNERS NEWS ForeclosureGate.org Is A Public Service Homeowner Coalition and Cooperative, Created To Exchange News And Information And To Advance Justice For American Homeowners

'Eminent Domain/Community Stabilization Debate' Newspaper Published Every Friday http://paper.li/EmDomainDebate/1342319964 QUESTION: What prevents local community authorities from approving a Neighborhood Preservation and Foreclosure Prevention Program, to be made available to all underwater borrowers in foreclosure or in danger of foreclosure, whereby seizure using Eminent Domain occurs only if those claiming to be the mortgage/note-holders, first refuse to modify a loan principal balance down to the current, appropriate fair market value?

U.S. Consumer Watchdog to Oversee Credit Bureaus The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced on Monday that it would begin supervising the leading credit bureaus, the companies that collect financial details of everyones life. The bureau will oversee and make rules covering about 30 credit reporting companies, representing 94 percent of the $4 billion credit reporting market..

ATTENTION Homeowner Advocacy Groups: Urge Local Officials Across America To Implement Similar Fraud Prevention Measures Ingham County officials won a temporary restraining order this week against a debt collection agency attempting to foreclose on a Meridian Twp. homeowner. This is the second time Ingham County officials have intervened to save the home from what they say is a wrongful foreclosure.

Noah Lamaide Saves Grandma's Home from Foreclosure One day this past January, Noah Lamaide of Stevens Point, Wisc., heard crying as he crept down his basement stairs. His grandmother, Janice Sparhawk, 72, was tearfully explaining to his mom, Jill, that illness had caused her to fall behind on the mortgage on the white 100-yearold cottage that had been in her family for generations.

Foreclosure reform takes effect Among the measures, homeowners will have the right to meet face-to-face with a neutral mediator and the bank or institution that owns their mortgage before foreclosure can take place. Many consumers have complained that it's difficult to reach the bank that ultimately owns their home because mortgages are often bundled and sold on the secondary market.

Maryland court limits chain of title challenges post-foreclosure A new opinion from the Maryland Court of Appeals limits the amount of time homeowners have to challenge chain of title defects when dealing with a foreclosure. The ruling essentially prohibits homeowners from raising title defect issues in court after a foreclosure sale is already complete.

California foreclosure overhaul signed into law A major overhaul of foreclosure laws in the Golden State has been signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown. Last week, California lawmakers passed the legislation that would provide homeowners with some of the nation's strongest protections from foreclosure and aggressive bank practices.

Foreclosure fraud combatant eyes clerk of court role in Florida Florida has been ground zero for foreclosure fraud, but even with multibillion-dollar settlements and federal consent orders, the state's financial services industry may face new scrutiny from a community activist who's taken a critical look at the industry and its practices. Lisa Epstein, who's running for clerk of court.

Mortgage Demand Wanes Despite Historically Low Interest Rates Despite the historically low rate of interest, and the seemingly available supply of credit, applications for mortgages are not increasing, as one might expect, but actually are continuing to decline. According to the MBA, as of the week ending June 3, 2011, mortgage loan applications.

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WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 16 JULY 20, 2012

WEDNESDAY, JULY 18, 2012

ACADEMIA ADVERSARIES ADVOCATES BLOGOSPHERE LEGAL LEGISLATE OP-ED HOMEOWNERS NEWS ForeclosureGate.org Is A Public Service Homeowner Coalition and Cooperative, Created To Exchange News And Information And To Advance Justice For American Homeowners

'Eminent Domain/Community Stabilization Debate' Newspaper Published Every Friday http://paper.li/EmDomainDebate/1342319964 QUESTION: What prevents local community authorities from approving a Neighborhood Preservation and Foreclosure Prevention Program, to be made available to all underwater borrowers in foreclosure or in danger of foreclosure, whereby seizure using Eminent Domain occurs only if those claiming to be the mortgage/note-holders, first refuse to modify a loan principal balance down to the current, appropriate fair market value?

Ruling could have impact on foreclosure suits An appeals court ruling this week in favor of a Cobb County couple could leave mortgage companies liable for damages for not following state law in an unknown number of Georgia foreclosures.

More US homes facing foreclosure risk in June Banks are increasingly placing homes with unpaid mortgages on a countdown that could deliver a swell of new foreclosed properties onto the market by early next year, potentially weighing further on home values.

New York Activists Blockade Foreclosure Auctions to Stop Banks Selling Homes In fact, in each of the five boroughs of New York City, each week, there's a foreclosure auction. There's no fanfare and little drama most of the time; it's a clubby atmosphere, a bunch of people who seem to know each other.

A deed of "Adverse Possession" From A Former realtor who now faces criminal charges A Colorado family has reclaimed its home, after squatters occupied it for the better part of a year. A county judge in Littleton, Colo., recently gave squatters 48 hours to leave a home they did not own, and allow the family to regain possession.

Republicans Block DISCLOSE Act As expected, Republicans filibustered the DISCLOSE Act last night, as the legislation that would have forced disclosure on political campaign expenditures failed 51-44. Republicans who voted all united against the bill.

Consumer watchdog scolds bankers for taking bad risks It must be hard for the banking industry, which revels in indecipherable communication with customers, to actually be spoken to in plain English. It must be equally hard to be told that the business industry's greedy, self-interested practices reward recklessness.

Census Bureau: Millions more Americans shared households in face of recession Millions of economically pressed Americans cushioned themselves against the recession by doubling up in houses and apartments, according to a Census Bureau report released Wednesday. The number of adults sharing households with family members or other individuals jumped 11.4 percent.

UCLA forecasts California housing recovery next year A dearth of residential construction remains a huge drag on the state's economy, according to the quarterly UCLA Anderson Forecast, while sales of distressed properties still dominate the market. "The data is just not telling me that the market has turned or is on the verge of turning," said senior economist Jerry Nickelsburg.

White House Skeptical of Plan to Seize Mortgages by Eminent Domain The eminent-domain gambit is being advocated by Steven Gluckstern, the chairman of Mortgage Resolution Partners, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that has been the guiding force behind three California municipalities that are considering the approach.Mr. Gluckstern, an entrepreneur and former insurance executive, took an early role as a major fundraiser for President Barack Obama.

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WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 16 JULY 20, 2012

THURSDAY, JULY 19, 2012

ACADEMIA ADVERSARIES ADVOCATES BLOGOSPHERE LEGAL LEGISLATE OP-ED HOMEOWNERS NEWS ForeclosureGate.org Is A Public Service Homeowner Coalition and Cooperative, Created To Exchange News And Information And To Advance Justice For American Homeowners

'Eminent Domain/Community Stabilization Debate' Newspaper Published Every Friday http://paper.li/EmDomainDebate/1342319964 QUESTION: What prevents local community authorities from approving a Neighborhood Preservation and Foreclosure Prevention Program, to be made available to all underwater borrowers in foreclosure or in danger of foreclosure, whereby seizure using Eminent Domain occurs only if those claiming to be the mortgage/note-holders, first refuse to modify a loan principal balance down to the current, appropriate fair market value? Are US Home Equity Loans Another Ticking Time Bomb? The nascent U.S. housing recovery could be concealing another financial time bomb: home equity loans. Many Americans took out the loans, which are essentially second mortgages borrowed against property values, during the boom times of the United States housing bubble that peaked in 2006 and crashed a year later. 75% Principal Reduction Loan Modification By GMAC Mortgage Its not exactly an avalanche yet.but I am seeing a steady stream of modifications that include DRAMATIC principal reductions in mortgages. More and more the reductions were seeing are very meaningful, very, very meaningful indeed. TAKE A LOOK AT THE ONE FROM JUST TODAY.

'Shadow REO': As Many as 90% of Foreclosed Properties Held Off the Market, Estimates Suggest The bank-owned house (pictured above) has been vacant for 18 months, according to Faranda, a Realtor specializing in distressed properties. Just two notices taped to a window are the only indications that the home is unoccupied.

NV AG Masto has no regrets about robosigning law's effect on foreclosures, short sales "I hear that because of AB 284, banks can't foreclose. How is it that 284 is preventing a bank from foreclosing on someone not making their payment?" she asked the audience of about 300 real estate industry professionals. "There's a reason banks aren't foreclosing. I just haven't figured it out yet."

A Manayunk foreclosure by BofA shows mortgage program's flaws But Fiorilli, facing foreclosure after a two-year bureaucratic tangle with Bank of America over a mortgage modification, would rather stay and fight even if her home is now worth less, as she says bank officials have suggested, than what she owes on it.

Detroit Shrinks Itself, Historic Homes and All In leveling 1860 Balmoral Drive, the boyhood home of one-time presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Detroit is losing a small piece of its history. But the project is part of a demolition effort that is just now gaining momentum and could help define the city's future.

May Numbers Throw Cold Water on Hopes for Housing Recovery After a few months of more encouraging data earlier this year, a slew of less-than-stellar May numbers threw cold water on hopes that the housing market could be finally turning around.

Two-thirds of Americans wouldn't survive a financial emergency If the standard financial wisdom is true that surviving a financial catastrophe requires a 6month cache of emergency savings then twothirds of Americans may be in for a nasty surprise.

Are There Constitutional Limitations On Seizing Underwater Mortgages Via Eminent Domain? This Commentary discusses a proposal, referred to below as the property seizure program, whereby state and local governments would use their eminent domain power to condemn underwater mortgagesthat is, mortgages under which the outstanding amount of the debt exceeds the market value of the underlying real property. The property seizure program appears to have generated some momentum over the last few months, collecting the endorsement of both legal scholars and politicians.

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WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 16 JULY 20, 2012

FRIDAY, JULY 20, 2012

ACADEMIA ADVERSARIES ADVOCATES BLOGOSPHERE LEGAL LEGISLATE OP-ED HOMEOWNERS NEWS ForeclosureGate.org Is A Public Service Homeowner Coalition and Cooperative, Created To Exchange News And Information And To Advance Justice For American Homeowners

'Eminent Domain/Community Stabilization Debate' Newspaper Published Every Friday http://paper.li/EmDomainDebate/1342319964 QUESTION: What prevents local community authorities from approving a Neighborhood Preservation and Foreclosure Prevention Program, to be made available to all underwater borrowers in foreclosure or in danger of foreclosure, whereby seizure using Eminent Domain occurs only if those claiming to be the mortgage/note-holders, first refuse to modify a loan principal balance down to the current, appropriate fair market value? CEO, Senior Executives Indicted In Massive Fraud and Borrowers Do Business Schools Incubate Criminals? The recent scandals at and other banks might give the impression that the financial sector has some serious morality problems. Unfortunately, its worse than that: We are dealing with a drop in ethical standards throughout the business world, and our graduate schools are partly to blame. Facing Foreclosure After 50 Roy Johnson fell so far behind on his $1,000-permonth mortgage payments that last year he allowed the redbrick, three-bedroom ranch he had owned since 1963 to lapse into foreclosure. I couldnt pay it any longer, he said. One day, I woke up and said, Hell, Im through with it. Im walking away from the house.

"They allegedly used scheme after scheme to conceal past-due loans and remove foreclosed property from the bank's books. Today's charges allege that friends of the bank received sweetheart deals in return for helping mask the bank's true financial position. When Foreclosure Affects Children According to a study conducted by CHOPs PolicyLab and published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, there is a strong relationship between the rate of child physical abuse and local mortgage foreclosures. The study,. found that overall physical abuse increased by 0.79 percent per year in the period between 2000 and 2009. Thesis: 85-90% of REO Being Held Off Market, Meaning Tight Inventories Are Bogus Weve been mystified with the housing bull argument that things really are getting better. While real estate is always and ever local, and some markets may indeed be on the upswing, there are ample reasons to doubt the idea that an overall housing recovery is in. "A silent, selective tornado": Report describes the foreclosure crisis on St. Paul's East side Since April 2011, more homes with zip codes on the East side have been foreclosed on than in any other part of St. Paul. Ward 7, encompassing the East side neighborhoods of Daytons Bluff, Sunray, Battle Creek and Highwood, contains nearly a quarter of the citys vacant buildings.

Survey: Experts Agree Market to Hit Bottom in 2013 The respondents June prediction for home prices is that they will fall 0.4 percent in 2012, and then rise by 1.3 percent in 2013. In 2014, they expect home prices to rise by 2.5 percent, then rise by 3 percent in 2015, and then go up by 3.3 percent in 2016.

New Home Sales he Commerce Department said Monday that sales of new homes increased 7.6% in May from April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 369,000 homes. That's the best pace since April 2010, the last month that buyers could qualify for a federal home-buying tax credit. Even with the gains, the annual sales pace is less than half the 700,000 that economists consider to be healthy.

California County Considers a Rescue Plan for Struggling Homeowners Browning lawns surround the otherwise neat houses in these once-sparkling developments where foreclosures have become more common than neighborhood cookouts. Each patch of dead grass is a reminder of the inescapable truth: many homes here, as they are elsewhere around the country, are worth half what they were just five years ago. Desperate for a way out of a housing collapse that has crippled the region, officials in San Bernardino County, where Fontana is one of the largest cities, are exploring a drastic option using eminent domain to buy.

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WEEKEND EDITION, JULY 16 JULY 20, 2012

ACADEMIA

ADVERSARIES

ADVOCATES

BLOGOSPHERE

LEGAL

LEGISLATE

OP-ED

HOMEOWNERS NEWS

ForeclosureGate.org Is A Public Service Homeowner Coalition and Cooperative, Created To Exchange News And Information And To Advance Justice For American Homeowners

PAGE 6 FEATURED TOPIC EMINENT DOMAIN / COMMUNITY STABILIZATION

County Considers Eminent Domain As Foreclosure Fix County and city officials in San Bernardino, Calif., are considering a controversial plan: using the power of eminent domain to take over "underwater" mortgages, where the value of the home is worth less than the original loan. Taking on those properties, officials say, would allow the homeowners to refinance those troubled loans. Half of all 300,000 mortgages in the Southern California county are underwater, according to county officials. Taking Current Underwater Loans v. Defaulted Ones As noted in my look at Mortgage Resolution Partnerss pitch to San Bernandino, MRP focuses on condemning the loans of current underwater borrowers. From an investor standpoint, that makes some sense because the borrowers refinancing should be easy. But from a deal economics and public policy view, it arguably makes much more sense. Memo Questions Legality of California Eminent Domain Proposal FGG XEDITORS NOTE: Will Constitutional Challenges To Stabilizing Foreclosure-Ravaged Communities Via Eminent Domain, Backfire On The Opponents To The Plan And Instead Expose The Fraudulent Underbelly Of Mortgage Securitization? ---------- SIFMA today released a legal memo drafted by law firm OMelveny & Myers, LLP at the request of the Association that addresses the numerous legal and Constitutional problems with a proposal created by Mortgage Resolution Partners (MRP) and being considered by the County of San Bernardino in California to use eminent domain to acquire mortgage loans. . SIFMA Statement On the JPAs Proposed Use of Eminent Domain to Take Mortgage Loans First. The use of eminent domain will do more harm than good. The worst harm will be felt by San Bernardino residents themselves, as they find it harder or impossible to obtain credit. If performing mortgage loans are taken from their holders, this will cause significant losses to those holders, and cause those who fund mortgage loans to act very cautiously. Reviving Real Estate Requires Collective Action IMAGINE that you are watching an outdoor theater production while sitting on the grass. You have difficulty seeing, so you prop yourself up on your knees. Soon everyone behind you does the same. Eventually, most people are kneeling or standing, yet they are less comfortable than they were before and have no better view. Everyone should sit down, and everyone knows it, but no one does. This is a collective action problem, a phenomenon that is, unfortunately, all too common. At the moment, the trouble in our real estate markets and the drag these markets are placing on our entire economy may be understood as a collective action problem. In a nutshell, mortgage lenders need to write down the amounts owed by individual homeowners. Riverside County CA Supervisor Says: [Eminent Domain] Mortgage program out of Karl Marx playbook FGG EDITOR'S NOTE: Supervisor Marion Ashley Please, before using words like "holders of existing loans" may we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the fatally flawed process of mortgage securitization. Locating the legally entitled "holders of existing loans" will not be possible and in most cases, the promissory note has been destroyed. Please understand that you are messing with the lives of struggling homeowners who are also, coincidentally, voters. ------------ The county could become entangled in lengthy and expensive litigation with the holders of existing loans It will hurt the entire Inland Empire economy and indirectly affect Riverside County. Then Ashley dropped the K-bomb. I think this is the wrong thing to do, he said. Its almost right out of the Karl Marx playbook. Investors [?] attack San Bernardino County's plan to seize mortgages FGG EDITOR'S NOTE: Are we expected to believe that anyone claiming to represent "investor groups", actually cares about the investors? Or, is it far more likely that attempts to pit innocent investors against innocent homeowners, is a desperate effort to protect the asses of those who got our country into this mess? The actual investors would not be in this unfortunate position, had they been treated ethically and told the truth about the investments and told the truth about mortgage securitization. The destructive cover-up continues, sadly with the assistance of prominent media organizations.

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